Container



April 30, 1946. A MERKL v 2,399,241 CONTAINER Filed Aug. 3, 1940 l/lil'INVENTOR t I fl/ IdMFf// Ill [4 I 9 7 7 11 law;

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 30, 1946 comma 1 Alfred Merkle, East Northport,N. Y., assignor to American Sealcone Corporation,

New York,

N. Y a corporation of New York Application August 3, 1940, Serial No.350,217 r 7 Claims. (01. 229-55) This invention relates to containersmade of fibrous material, such as paper, and adapted for the packagingand distributing of various liquids, such as milk.

It is an object of the invention to provide an.

.improved construction and arrangement of container of this character torender the side walls of the body of the container rigid and to providereinforced e'nd closures for the body and an improved flexible sealedconnection between the end closures and the body of the container.

Containers of this character consist of a body usually formed from ablank and secured at the longitudinal marginal portions and closures aresecured in the ends of the body. To pour the contents from the containerthe body or the end closure is punctured to provide an opening. In someinstances an end closure of the container is provided with a pouringopening and a removable closure is provided therefor. In packaging thegoods in the container it is necessary to provide a closure and means toseal of closure secured and sealed in an end of a container body andarranged whereby a part of the closure is adapted to be readily releasedfrom the body and bent upon itself to provide a filling and pouringopening for the container, and said bent portion constituting a closureflap to'close said opening after the contents has been filled into thecontainer, or a portion of the contents the closure in said openingduring the distribution of the con- Figure 5 is a sectional view, on anenlarged scale, of the flexible sealed connection between an end closureand the bodyof the container.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing there isprovided a body B of rectangular shape in cross section formed from ablank of pliable though somewhat rigid fibrous material, such as paper,shaped about a mandrel with the longitudinal marginal portions of theblank overlapped and adhesively' secured and sealed in said condition,as at 5. The comers of the body are preferably in an arc of a circle toadd rigidity to the side wall or body of the container but permitting ofslight contracting and expanding movements thereof, and the marginalportions at the ends of the body are folded inwardly upon themselves incontiguous relation to provide a flexible fold at the ends of thecontainer body, as at 6. v

A closure is secured in one end of the body to constitute the bottomthereof, and comprises a blank of fibrous material, such as paper,conforming to the cross sectional shape of the body and having upon thesurface thereof exposed to the interior of the container, or upon themarginal portion of such surface, a coating of thermoplastic or otheradhesive material having a high fusing point and may have the propertiesof being resistant to oil and grease, including hydrocarbon and mineraloils or greases, as well as moisture resistant. The end closures areprefhas been pouied from the container, and serve as a protecting cover.for the pouring lip during distribution and use of the container.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved container, partly insection, to show the manner of securing and sealing an end closure inthe body of the container.

Figure 2 is a view looking at the top of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in section of the upper portion of thecontainer shown in Figure 1, the section being taken on the line 3-3 ofFigure 2;' and Figure 4 is a plan view of a blank from which the endclosures are formed.

erably preformed to final shape before being applied to the end of thecontainer, for which purpose the peripheral or rim portion of the blankfrom which it is formed is provided with a flange extending laterallyfrom the'surface having the coating of adhesive material, as at 1, andthe flange curved or folded outwardly upon itself to substantially Ushape in cross section, as shown at l, with the coating of adhesivematerial upon 'the inner surface thereof. In this condition the endclosure is inserted into an end of the body with the U shaped peripheralflange or rim portion engaged upon the folded end of the body, when theflange portions are adhesively secured and sealed to the folded endportion and outer side of the body by the coating of adhesive material.This is effected when the adhesive consists of thermoplastic material bysubjecting said closure parts to heat and pressure to fuse and cause thethermoplastic materialto penetrate the material of the folded end of thebody means, and as shown in Figure 1 may comprise a head 9 having anannular portion. Ill projecting from a face of the head adjacent andwithin the periphery thereof, the peripheral face of said projectingportion being partly rounded to conform to the outwardly curved portionof the flange. The portion 1' of the flange is pressed to the outwardlyextending portion I and the interposed folded end of the body againstthe head projection' ID by a ring member ll comprising segments movabletoward and away from the periphery of the head 9 and the head projectionIll. To simultaneously subject said closure parts to heat the headprojection Ill and ring II are heated as by an electric heating elementIi arranged within and insulated from said parts. The thermoplasticmaterial as it is fused, and particularly so when the inner surface ofthe closure is coated with such material, will flow over and seal theraw edge of the folded in end of the body. After the material has beenfllled into the container a similar closure is applied to the filler endof the container, and the exterior of the container may be renderedmoisture proof by applying thereto a coating of moisture resistantmaterial, such as paraflin. Should the container be utilized for thepackaging and dispensing of liquids, such as milk, only the seamportions of the body blank and the peripheral portion constituting theinner surface of the flange of the end closures are provided with thecoating of thermoplastic material and after the bottom closure has beensecured in the body the container is rendered moisture proof in asuitable manner, as by immersing the container in a bath of moistureresistant material. such as paraflin, the paraifln penetrating thematerial of the container and'forming a surface coating thereon. Foldingthe marginal portion of the ends of the body inwardly upon themselvesand adhesively uniting the closure flange to the outer side and saidfolded end portion of the body reinforces and renders the connections ofthe body with the closures flexible, and should the same be subjected tojars such connections will compensate for any distortion of thecontainer parts and prevent separating of the seam parts. Also bysecuring the closure flange to the folded-in end portion of the body anyoutward pressure on the bodywill spread the folded end portion of thebody and will not exert a separating force on the adhesively united seamportions of the closure flanges with said folded ends of the body.

It will -be obvious that instead of preforming the end closures with theU-shaped flange, the

peripheral portion of the blank may be provided with the outwardlyextending flange I as the closure is inserted into the end of the body,as by'the head I, and in successive sequence the flange curved or foldedoutwardly over the end of the container body to the outer side thereof,as by the ring member H and the seam pms then subjected to heat andpressure to secure and seal the closure to the folded end portions ofthe body.

To provide the container with a pouring opening and a closure for saidopening the blank. of an end closure may be provided with a weakening orscored bending line extending transversely 'of a corner portion ofthe-blank, as indicated by dot and dash line I: in Figure 4, saidweakening or score line being of a length to'extend transversely of theportions of the blank constituting the laterally extending portion 1 ofthe flange and curved portion of the flange extending over the end ofthe body, as indicated at 12!, and the ends terminating in incisions orsevered portions I2" extending transversely of the outwardly foldedportion of the flange 'I'. The corner of the closure blank relative towhich the weakening line extends is preferably arranged in an arc of acircle having a longer radius than the radius from which the otherarcuate corner portions of the blank are struck, thus arranging saidportion of the flange 1' of increased width relative to the remainder ofsaid flange portion, and said portion of increased width is notadhesively secured to the body and is effected by making theheat andpressure applying means of a thickness equal to the width of the closureflange or the reversely curved portion of the flange and arranging saidportion of the flange 1'. as a finger engaging tab, as shown at 8 inFigure 3. The flange portion 1' within the severed ends 12" may bereadily released from the container by exerting an up- I ward pull onthe tab portion 8 after which the closure may be bent upon the weakeningor score line l2, l2 and thus provide an opening at a corner of thecontainer through which to pour the contents from the container. Theclosure may be secured to the container body and the contents filledinto the container through said pouring opening and the opening closedby the closure flap and the flange of the flap secured and sealed to thebody. The flange of the closure flap serves as a. protecting cover forthe pouring lip during distribution and use of the container.

To reinforce the container closures and to provide additional supportfor the contents of the container the portion of the closures within theflange is depressed outwardly in the direction of the flange, as at I4,and is preferably of a depth slightly less than the extent of the flangewherebythe flange or end of the container will project slightly beyondsaid depressed portion, as clearly shown in Figure l. The depressedportion is of rectangular form with the side walls l4 arranged to extenddiagonally of the corners of the end closures and the container body, asshown in Figures 2 and 4, and the corners at the juncture of thedepressed portion may also be rounded or in an arc of a circle. Theblank is preferably preformed with the depression ll, arranging theblank substantially to dish form and the rim is then flanged laterallyand arranged to U shape in cross section, and the flange when theclosure is inserted into the end of the body will engage over the end ofthe body as set forth. In this arrangement to adapt one closure end tobe provided with a pouring opening and a closure flap for said opening,it is not necessary to arrange the closure with the weakening or scoreline (2, 12', since the bend or corner at the juncture of a side wall,as ll, of the depressed portion with a portion of the closure betweenthe depressed portion and flange I will constitutes. weakened line onwhich the closure may be bent. The outwardly folded portion I of theclosure flange is also provided with the tab portion 8 and may besevered, as at i2", although it is not absolutely necessary. Tofacilitate releasing the corner portion having the tab 8 from thecontainer said tab is grasped between the thumb and fingers and anupward force applied thereto while at the same time applying a slightpressure to the a depressed portion of the closure. It will be ch- Itwill be obvious that modifications may be made in the construction andarrangement of the.

parts without departing from the scope of the invention, and thatportions may be used without others and come within the scope of theinvention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A container, comprising a body having the marginal portions at theopposite ends folded inwardly and free of the inner side of the body,and closures for the ends of the body having the the outer side of thebody providing flexible conmarginal portion flanged laterally and foldedouta body having the marginal end portions-folded.

inwardly and free of the inner side of-the body, and closures of dishform for the ends of .the body having the rim flanged laterally in thedirection of and to an extent greater than the depth of the dish portionand" folded outwardly and reversely upon itself substantially to U-shanein cross section, and said closures inserted into the ends of the bodywith the laterally extending portion of the flange engaging andadhesively united to the folded end portionsof the body and theoutwardly folded portion of the flange engaging and adhesively united tothe outer side of the body providing'a flexible connection between thebody and closures of the container, and the dishportion of the closuredisposed within the ends of the body.

3. A container of fibrous material, comprising 'a body having themarginal portions at the oppoin cross section, said closures engagingthe ends of the body with the flanges embracing and adhesively united tothe folded end portion and nections between the body and closures, andthe flange of a corner portion of a closure adapted to be released fromthe bodyand bent outwardly on a bend of the depressed portion to providethe container with a pouring opening and said bent closure portionadapted to serve as a closure flap for said pouring opening.

5. A container of fibrous material, comprising a blank shaped to form abody of rectangular form in cross section with the longitudinal portionsoverlapped and adhesively united, and closures for the ends of the bodyformed from a rectangular blank having the marginal portion flangedlaterally and folded outwardly over the ends to the outer side of thebody and adhesively united thereto, one of said closures being arrangedwith a weakened line extending diagonally of a corner portion of theclosure and the ends merging with incisions extending transversely ofthe outwardly folded portion of the flange, the flange within theincisions being adapted to be released from the body and the closurebent on the weakened line to provide the container with a pouringopening and adapted to function as a releasable closureflap for saidopening.

6. A container, comprising abody of fibrous material of rectangular formin cross section rounded at the corners and the marginal portions at theopposite ends folded inwardly, and end closures of fibrous materialcorresponding to the cross sectional shape of the body and one cornerportion arranged as a tab, said closures having a depressed portion ofrectangular form with the side wall portions extending diagonally of thecorners of the closures and the marginal portions of the closuresflanged laterally in the direction of the depressed portion and foldedoutwardly upon itself, and said flange engaging and adhesively united tothe inwardly-folded end portion and outer side of the body, the tabportion at the 45,0ne corner of the flange being adapted to be marginalportion thereof, said closures having a centrally depressed reinforcingportion and the marginal portion with the coating of thermoplasticmaterial flanged laterallyin the direction of so flange folded outthedepressed portion and the wardly and reversely substantially to U-shapein cross section with the thermoplastic coating on the inner surfacethereof. said closures engaging the ends of the body with the laterallyextending portion of the flange engaging the folded end portions of thebody and the outwardly folded portion of the flange eng in the outerside of the body and both flange portions adhesively united to thefolded end portions and the outer side of the body by the thermoplasticadhesive material by the application of heatand pressure providingreinforced and flembleconnections between the body and closures. v

4. A container of fibrous material, comprising a body of rectangularform in cross section havrasped between the thumb and fingers to releasethe flange at said corner portion from the body and bend said releasedportion on the bend of the depressed portion extending diagonally ofsaid corner to provide the container with a pouring opening and saidbent portion adapted to function as a closure flap for said opening.

7. A container of fibrous material, comprising a body having themarginal portions at the opposite ends folded upon themselves and thefolded mg the marginal portions at the opposite ends wardly up nthemselves substantiailyto U-shase' portions free of the body, andclosures inserted into the ends of the body having a peripher l channel,U shaped in cross section, enclos ng the folded marginal portion of thebody and adhesivelyunited to said folded end portions and the body. oneof said closures having a weakened bending lineextendingtransverselythereof at one side of the center merging at the ends withincisions extending transversely of the outer portion of the channel,that portion of the channel lying between the incisions being adapted tobe released from the body and the closure bent outwardly on the weakenedline to provide the container with a pouring opening and said bentportion of the closure adapted to function as a closure flap for saidopening.

awash MmKLs.

